Bristol-Myers drug shows modest effect in lung cancer

NEW YORK, May 20 (Reuters) - An experimental drug being developed by Bristol-Myers Squibb Co when used with chemotherapy appeared to keep advanced lung cancer from progressing modestly longer than chemotherapy alone, according to a summary of data from a mid-stage study.

The biotechnology drug ipilimumab, which augments the body's immune response by inhibiting certain proteins, kept advanced non-small cell lung cancer from worsening about a month longer when given in addition to a chemotherapy regimen, data from an abstract of the study showed.

American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) released on Thursday thousands of abstracts, or brief summaries, of studies to be presented next month at its scientific sessions in Chicago -- the year's most important cancer meeting.

In the 203-patient study, subjects were given either ipilimumab in combination with paclitaxel and carboplatin, the Bristol drug followed by the chemotherapy drugs, or the chemotherapy drugs alone.

Patients who received the drugs sequentially had average progression-free survival times of 5.68 months, compared with 5.52 months for those who received the drugs concurrently.

Both ipilimumab groups fared better than those who received only the chemotherapy. Median progression-free survival in that group was 4.63 months, researchers said.

Median progression-free survival typically is a measure of time before the disease worsens in half the patients.

Ipilimumab is considered one of the most important drugs in Bristol's development pipeline.

It is also being tested in metastatic melanoma, for which there are currently few treatment options. Highly anticipated late-stage data in melanoma has been kept under wraps and will be one of the highlight presentations at the June meeting.

In the lung cancer trial, the drug moderately added toxicity to the chemotherapy regimen and drug-related death rates were comparable across all treatment arms, researchers said.

The researchers conclude the results support further study of the Bristol drug in non-small cell lung cancer.